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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wound · lie · court · stem · present · wax · file · last

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. file — a document
  3. last — finally
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wax — to grow
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. last — final
  8. lie — to recline
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. court — of law
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. present — there
  16. last — to go on
  17. present — a gift
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. stem — to come from
  22. file — a tool
  23. present — the time now
  24. court — of a king

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com